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Seoul in 13 days: day-by-day itinerary and hotels

Thirteen days in the capital: royal palaces and UNESCO-listed shrines, hanok villages, night markets, the Bukhansan hike and the DMZ.

Compiled by Kylian, updated on Aug 13, 2026

Download one day as a PDF (day 3) The Geunjeongjeon throne hall at Gyeongbokgung Palace
  • 13 days
  • 43 places
  • 13 nights
  • moderate pace
Start
Seoul (Incheon airport)
End
Seoul (Gangnam)
Main transport
Subway and bus (T-money card)
Recommended season
Spring (April-May, cherry blossoms) or autumn (October, foliage)

What you get

  • The complete itinerary: 13 days sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Hotel
  • The card of every hotel, with the address and a direct booking link
  • Quota tickets, fixed-date tickets and surcharges flagged in advance
  • The country quick guide: weather, transport, formalities, budget
  • A PDF file of 20 pages

What the price does not include

  • Flights
  • Hotel nights
  • Tickets and admission fees
  • Travel insurance
  • On-the-ground assistance during your trip

The itinerary preview

The free day in full, with its hotel card. This is the sample.

Day 3

Palaces and royal shrine

Morning

A wooden pavilion of Changgyeonggung palace at the edge of its pond, under a blue sky
Changgyeonggung palace.

Changgyeonggung

Built for the dowager queens, Changgyeonggung is known for its peaceful pavilions, its large pond and its colonial-era botanical greenhouse. It connects directly to the neighboring Changdeok palace.

Changdeok palace and secret garden

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Changdeokgung is the best-preserved Joseon palace, remarkable for the way it blends into the terrain. Its "secret garden" (Huwon), open by guided tour, unfolds pavilions, ponds and centuries-old trees.

Booking · required for the Secret Garden (Huwon), guided tour at fixed times: royal.khs.go.kr (new tab) . Book online from 6 days to 1 day ahead; half the places are sold on site on the day itself

Afternoon

The long red-columned wooden hall of Jongmyo shrine and its stone forecourt
The royal shrine of Jongmyo.

Jongmyo Shrine

A Confucian royal shrine listed by UNESCO, Jongmyo holds the tablets of the kings and queens of Joseon. Its long, strikingly austere wooden halls still host the Jongmyo Jerye, an ancestral rite with court music and dance.

Booking · guided tour on a timed slot, reservation required (free access on Saturdays): royal.khs.go.kr (new tab)

Ikseon-dong Hanok Village

This maze of early-20th-century hanok lanes is now full of cafés, boutiques and retro-style restaurants, and has become one of the trendiest neighborhoods in the city.

Unhyeongung

The residence where King Gojong grew up and married, Unhyeongung is an elegant late-Joseon aristocratic house, more intimate than the great palaces.

Evening

The Hongjecheon artificial waterfall lit in blue and purple after nightfall
The artificial waterfall of Hongjecheon.

Hongjecheon Artificial Waterfall

An artificial waterfall built on the Hongjecheon stream and lit up in the evening, it offers a refreshing break away from the classic tourist circuits.

Good to know

The secret garden (Huwon) of Changdeokgung can only be visited on a guided tour at fixed times, so book your slot ahead. Jongmyo is also visited partly on guided slots, except on Saturdays (free, self-guided visit).

The towers of the Seoul Dragon City complex lit up at dusk

Hotel · Night 3

Novotel Ambassador Seoul Yongsan

Inside the Seoul Dragon City complex in Yongsan, this upscale Accor hotel is directly connected to Yongsan Station (KTX, subway). Indoor pool, gym and a panoramic lounge on the 40th floor above the city.

Address
· 95 Cheongpa-ro 20-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul 04372
Website
· ambatel.com/novotel/yongsan (new tab)
Check-in
3:00 PM · Check-out 11:00 AM
Book this hotel (new tab)

Buy this itinerary

€39 incl. tax

that is €3.00 per day of travel

Billed in euros. If your card is in another currency, your bank converts at its own rate.

  • Secure payment through Stripe, bank card, Apple Pay and Google Pay
  • Available immediately in your customer account: online reading with clickable booking links, downloadable PDF for offline use
  • Method: what is checked, and when

A hotel in the itinerary closed or impossible to find, a place to visit permanently closed?

Within 12 months of purchase, email contact@etaperia.com

Itinerary corrected within 7 days, or refunded in full. Terms in article 12 of the terms of sale, on top of the legal warranty (new tab)

€39 incl. tax · 13 days

Buy

A question before buying? Email Kylian, reply within 2 business days.

The day-by-day rundown

13 stops, 110 km as the crow flies

  1. Day 1 Arrival and the historic heart of Seoul Deoksugung and the historic heart Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  2. Day 2 Hanok village and Myeongdong Namsangol Hanok Village and Myeongdong Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  3. Day 3 Palaces and royal shrine Changdeokgung and Jongmyo shrine Free
  4. Day 4 Gyeongbokgung, the great palace Gyeongbokgung, the great palace Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  5. Day 5 Hiking in Bukhansan National Park Hiking in Bukhansan National Park Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  6. Day 6 Gangnam, temples and skyscrapers Gangnam and Bongeunsa temple Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  7. Day 7 Markets and the Namsan panorama Markets and the Namsan panorama Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  8. Day 8 Lotte World, the family day Lotte World, the family day Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  9. Day 9 Top of the Lotte Tower and Olympic Park Top of the Lotte Tower and Olympic Park Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  10. Day 10 National museum and war memorial National museum and war memorial Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  11. Day 11 Design, ramparts and street food Dongdaemun Design Plaza and ramparts Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  12. Day 12 Bukchon and royal tombs Bukchon and royal tombs Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  13. Day 13 The DMZ and the border with the North The DMZ from Imjingak Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF

1 day is free to read above. The other 12 unlock when you buy. Buy the itinerary, €39

Found an error in this itinerary? Report an error

Country quick guide and logistics

The essentials of the country, scannable in ten seconds.

Weather and when to go

  • Four distinct seasons. The best windows are spring (April-May, cherry blossoms) and autumn (October, foliage).
  • Summers are hot and humid, with the monsoon in July. Winters are cold and dry.
  • Yellow dust (hwangsa) blown in from the Asian mainland is possible in spring. Check the air quality index on days with westerly winds.

Transport and permits

  • The transport network is exceptional. A rechargeable T-money card works on the subway, buses and taxis.
  • From Incheon airport, the AREX Express train reaches Seoul Station in about 45 minutes.
  • Google Maps works poorly in Korea: install Naver Map or KakaoMap, and Papago for translation.

Formalities and safety

  • Your passport must be valid beyond the length of your stay. US and UK passport holders can stay visa-free for up to 90 days for tourism.
  • The K-ETA electronic travel authorization is required in principle, but many nationalities benefit from a temporary exemption that keeps being extended. Check whether US and UK passports are covered on k-eta.go.kr before you leave.
  • No vaccine is required; keep routine vaccinations up to date (tetanus, diphtheria, polio, hepatitis A and B). Tap water is safe to drink in Seoul.
  • One of the safest countries in the world. Power: type C/F sockets, 220 V. US travelers need a plug adapter, and a voltage converter for any device that is not dual-voltage. UK travelers need a plug adapter only.

Budget and meals

  • Currency: South Korean won (KRW). Bank cards accepted almost everywhere; a little cash remains useful at the markets.
  • Street food: €3 to €8. Simple restaurant: €8 to €15.
  • The integrated ticket covers the 4 grand palaces and Jongmyo, including Changdeokgung's Secret Garden (Huwon): 10,000 won, valid for three months. It only pays off if you visit the Huwon: without it, the five sites cost just 9,000 won bought separately.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly do I receive?

Your Étaperia itinerary, available immediately in your customer account after payment: readable online with clickable booking links, and downloadable as a PDF for the trip. Every day is sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening and says where you spend the night, with the address and booking link for each place to stay. Timed-entry tickets are flagged in advance.

How is this better than what an AI gives me?

A generative AI composes a plausible list in seconds, without saying what was checked or when. At Étaperia, every itinerary is compiled day by day, with the booking constraints spotted before it is too late to get them. The Method page says what is checked, against which source and on what date.

Can I adapt it to my dates and my pace?

Yes. The days are self-contained blocks: you can shift the departure, stretch a stage or skip a day without breaking what follows. Only timed-entry tickets require adjusting the dates accordingly, and they are all flagged.

What if a hotel or a place in the itinerary has closed?

Email contact@etaperia.com within 12 months of your purchase. If a hotel in the itinerary is closed or can no longer be found, or a place to visit has closed permanently, the itinerary is corrected in your customer account within 7 days, or you are refunded in full. A hotel fully booked on your dates, a seasonal closure or a change in opening hours or prices is not covered. This guarantee comes on top of the legal warranty of conformity; details in article 12 of the terms and conditions of sale.

Module, classic or complete itinerary: which one should I choose?

A classic is a short trip built to stand on its own, designed for a first visit to the country. A module covers one region in depth. The complete itinerary crosses the whole country, and buying it also unlocks each of its modules in your customer account.

Can I get a refund if the itinerary doesn't suit me?

No. It is digital content delivered right away, and you waive your right of withdrawal at checkout. To judge before you pay, every product page gives one full day for free and the list of every stop. After purchase, the guarantee applies: a closed hotel or a permanently closed place is corrected within 7 days, otherwise you get a refund.

Who is selling you this itinerary

  • Consumer mediator: ANM Consommation
  • Payment handled by Stripe: Étaperia never sees your card number
  • Publisher, not a travel agency: you book flights, hotels and tickets yourself

In the same country

This module is one leg of the full itinerary: Complete South Korea itinerary: 81 days, hotels and bookings

The complete itinerary

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